Lead Dentist Position Available

Are You Ready to Lead a Practice You're Proud Of?

You've put in the years. You know how to produce, how to diagnose, how to manage difficult cases and difficult days. But something's missing — either you're in a DSO where your clinical judgment gets second-guessed by spreadsheets, or you're in an associateship that never evolved into anything more. You've outgrown the role, and you know it.

Pathway Dental Group is looking for a Lead/Anchor Doctor at our Santa Maria and Lompoc locations on California's beautiful Central Coast. This is a senior clinical position — not just another associate seat — with a compensation package to match.

This Is the Role You've Been Waiting For.

As our Lead/Anchor Doctor, you're not here to just fill a schedule. You're here to set the clinical tone, mentor the next generation of PDG doctors, and practice the kind of dentistry that made you want to go to dental school in the first place.

You'll bring your experience to bear across a full range of advanced procedures — as a practitioner and as a clinical leader. You'll have real input on how the practice grows, how cases are planned, and how our associate team develops.

Clinical scope includes:

- Guided implant placement and advanced surgical cases

- Full-mouth restorations and complex prosthodontic cases

- Sedation dentistry — integrated into your schedule

- Crestal sinus lifts, molar endo, surgical extractions

- Comprehensive aesthetic planning and cosmetic makeovers

- Clear aligner orthodontics

- Mentorship of associate doctors across all of the above

If you've been doing great dentistry in a place that never recognized it, this is where that changes.

Private Group Practice. Not a DSO.

You will never be just a production number here. Our doctors collaborate openly — sharing CE takeaways, flagging challenges before they become failures, and actively building each other up. The Lead/Anchor role is central to that culture. Your experience matters here, and your colleagues will treat it that way.

We aren't in LA — and we like it that way. Our patients know you by name. You can own a move-in ready home here for roughly half of what a fixer-upper costs in a major metro. Live by the water, in wine country, or in a neighborhood that actually feels like one — and spend your time outside of work with the people who matter, rather than stuck in gridlock.

The Compensation Reflects the Role.

This is a senior position and the compensation reflects that. Our Lead/Anchor Doctors earn at the top of the PDG range — between $350,000–$525,000+ annually, with no smoke and no massaged numbers. Percentage-based compensation is available immediately for the right candidate, so your earning potential scales directly with your clinical output and leadership.

- 3½–4½ days per week — no nights, no weekends

- Done by 4:00 pm most days; 1:00 pm on Fridays

- 4 weeks minimum vacation — your patients are covered by your colleagues

- Full benefits package

- Partnership track — this role is explicitly designed as a pipeline to ownership for the right person

What We're Looking for in You

An experienced doctor who is excellent at dentistry and genuinely invested in making other doctors better. Someone who leads by example, not by title — who can step into a complex case and into a mentorship conversation with equal confidence.

We take every addition to our team seriously. The Lead/Anchor seat is one we're filling carefully, because the right person will shape the future of this practice.

To apply, send us your cover letter, resume, and — most importantly — tell us what makes YOU the doctor other doctors learn from. We look forward to finding out.